Tiny Bluetooth low-energy and ANT+ ICs

Nordic Semiconductor ASA has introduced two wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP) variants of its existing QFN-packaged nRF51822 and nRF51422 SoCs (System-on-Chips) that will now join the company's class-leading nRF51 Series.

The nRF51822 WLCSP and nRF51422 WLCSP SoCs will offer the full functionality of their nRF51822 and nRF51422 QFN counterparts but in a 3.5 mm (length) x 3.8 mm (width) x 0.5 mm (height) WLCSP format that with a 13.3 mm2 footprint occupies 40 percent less board space. If the WLCSP SoCs are further used in conjunction with an integrated balun design available for the nRF51 Series from STMicroelectronics, the total board space saving compared to a conventional QFN and discrete component design can be as high as 80 percent.

The nRF51822 WLCSP and nRF51422 WLCSP claims to be the world's smallest Bluetooth low energy (including Bluetooth Smart) and ANT+ SoC solutions and are ideal for any application where space is constrained such as smart fashion and sports watches, wearable sports & fitness or medical sensors, portable smartphone appcessories, hearing aids, and smart cards.

Many of the products represent some of the fastest growing market segments within the ultra low power wireless industry today.